Rugby League World Cup | History And Winners
Are you one of those die-hard Rugby League World Cup (RLWC) fans who started to watch rugby from childhood but never knew its history? We have got you.
The Rugby League World Cup stands as the pinnacle of international rugby league competition.
The Rugby League World Cup is the highest stage in international rugby league, where the best players from around the world compete.
The Rugby League World Cup is one of the oldest World Cups in sports. It started in 1954.
The best thing about the Rugby League World Cup is that it has gone through transformations, controversies, and cancellations.
And every time, it made huge comebacks that shaped the sport into what it is today.
And also, as it is famous that history only talks about the winners, we are also going to talk about the winners of the Rugby League World Cup Winners
The Rugby League World Cup has been won by only three nations in its entire history: Australia (12 titles), Great Britain (3 titles), and New Zealand (1 title).
In this guide, we will discuss the complete history of the Rugby League World Cup.
We will also share the list of Rugby League World Cup winners with their years and discuss the upcoming RLWC 2026. So let’s dive in.
Rugby League World Cup
The Rugby League World Cup is the premier international competition in rugby league football.
The Rugby League World Cup is organised by the sport’s global governing body, International Rugby League (IRL).
The IRL brings together the best national teams from across the world to compete for the Paul Barrière Trophy.
The trophy of the Rugby League World Cup is named after the French Rugby League President, who was the driving force behind the tournament.
At the time, the RLWC shows three different competitions simultaneously, which are the Men’s World Cup, the Women’s Rugby League World Cup, and the Wheelchair Rugby League World Cup.
All three carry equal prominence under the RLWC banner, making it one of the most inclusive major sporting events in the world.
Rugby League World Cup History
Like every other sport or any other tournament, The Rugby League World Cup have a very long history.
We are going to divide this long history in 3 parts so that users can understand easily and enjoy better.
1) The Beginning Of The Rugby League World Cup
The idea of the Rugby League World Cup basically came from France in the 1930s.
The main force behind the Rugby League World Cup was the French Rugby League, which had grown quickly in France in the 1930s and 40s.
Paul Barrière, President of the French Rugby League, raised the idea formally in 1951, and after gaining backing from the Rugby Football League in England.
The International Board officially agreed to hold the first tournament in 1953, with France as the host nation.
In 1954, the very first Rugby League World Cup took place in cities across France, including Paris, Lyon, and Bordeaux.
At that time, It featured just four teams: Great Britain, France, Australia, and New Zealand.
Great Britain won that tournament, defeating France 16–12 in the final in Paris on 13 November 1954.
2) The Decentralized Era: 1985–1992
From 1985 to 1992, the World Cup tried something completely different.
Instead of a single host nation and a few weeks of matches, the tournament spread across multiple years in a home-and-away format.
In this, the teams played each other twice, once at home and once away, with results also counting toward international tour standings.
It was not great, but it worked. Papua New Guinea made its World Cup debut during this era, bringing the competition to five nations for the first time.
Australia dominated both editions without question. The 1988 final at Eden Park in Auckland drew 47,363 fans, which is a New Zealand rugby league attendance record at the time.
As the Kangaroos beat the Kiwis 25–12. Australian captain Wally Lewis, in what became one of rugby league’s most iconic moments.
Four years later, the 1992 final moved to Wembley Stadium in London, where 73,361 people packed in to watch Australia defeat Great Britain 10–6.
It was a record crowd for any international rugby league match, and it stood for over twenty years.
It was also the last time Great Britain ever took the field as a unified team in the Rugby League World Cup.
3) The Modern Era
The 2013 World Cup in England set a new attendance record with 74,468 fans at the Old Trafford final, which surpassed the Wembley record from 1992.
Australia won it again, beating New Zealand 34–2.
The 2017 tournament, also in Australia, produced another Australian win, a tight 6–0 victory over England in the final.
The 2021 Rugby League World Cup, which was held in England but played in 2022 after a COVID-19 postponement, was arguably the greatest edition of the tournament ever staged.
Samoa, competing at their first World Cup under that name and led by a squad full of NRL stars, reached the final against Australia
Australia eventually won 30–10, claiming their twelfth title, but it was also one of the best tournaments for Samoa.
Rugby League World Cup Winners
As we said earlier, this article will also cover the list of the winners of the Rugby League World Cup from the very first to the latest edition.
Given below is the complete list of the winners of the Rugby League World Cup.
| Year | Winner | Runner-Up | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1954 | Great Britain | France | 16–12 |
| 1957 | Australia | Great Britain | Round-robin |
| 1960 | Great Britain | Australia | Round-robin |
| 1968 | Australia | France | 20–2 |
| 1970 | Australia | Great Britain | 12–7 |
| 1972 | Great Britain | Australia | 10–10 (points) |
| 1975 | Australia | England | 25–0 |
| 1977 | Australia | Great Britain | 13–12 |
| 1985–88 | Australia | New Zealand | 25–12 |
| 1989–92 | Australia | Great Britain | 10–6 |
| 1995 | Australia | England | 16–8 |
| 2000 | Australia | New Zealand | 40–12 |
| 2008 | New Zealand | Australia | 34–20 |
| 2013 | Australia | New Zealand | 34–2 |
| 2017 | Australia | England | 6–0 |
| 2021/22 | Australia | Samoa | 30–10 |
Winning 12 out of 16 tournaments is good enough to tell the dominance of the Australian Rugby team.
Rugby League World Cup 2026
The next Rugby League World Cup is coming, and it is shaping up to be the most ambitious edition so far.
The 2026 tournament will be hosted across Australia, New Zealand, and Papua New Guinea.
Rugby League World Cup 2026 is set to start on 15 October 2026, and the Grand Final is scheduled for 15 November 2026 at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane.
Unlike the 2021 edition, which featured 16 teams in the Men’s competition, the 2026 Men’s World Cup has been reduced to 10 teams.
The ten confirmed men’s teams for RLWC 2026 are: Australia, New Zealand, England, Samoa, Tonga, Papua New Guinea, France, Lebanon, Cook Islands, and Fiji.
The Women’s and Wheelchair tournaments will each feature eight teams and run simultaneously alongside the Men’s competition.
Conclusion
The Rugby League World Cup is among the biggest tournaments in sports and is loved by the fans.
From its humble four-team beginnings in 1954 in France, through Australia’s era of dominance, to New Zealand’s historic 2008 breakthrough.
And Samoa’s unforgettable 2021 run, every edition has added a new chapter to one of sport’s most compelling stories.
The winners’ list tells one story clearly: Australia is the undisputed king of this competition.
The 2026 Rugby League World Cup is now coming, which is set to be held across Australia, New Zealand, and Papua New Guinea from October 15.